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blue-jasmine, curly clematis, curly virginsbower, marsh clematis, swamp leather flower

blue clematis, clématite occidentale, Columbia bower, Columbia clematis, Columbia virgin's bower, purple clematis, purple virgin's-bower, rock clematis, western blue clematis, western blue virginsbower, western clematis

Stems

viny, to 3 m, glabrous or sparsely to moderately pilose-pubescent, denser at nodes.

viny, climbing or trailing (plants scarcely viny perennials in var. dissecta).

Leaf

blade 1-2-pinnate or rarely a few simple or 3-foliolate;

leaflets 4-10 plus additional ± tendril-like terminal leaflet, usually lanceolate to ovate, occasionally linear, unlobed or proximally 3-5-lobed, (1.5-)3-10 × (0.1-)0.4-4(-5) cm, thin, not conspicuously reticulate;

surfaces glabrous, not glaucous.

blade 1-ternate (or terminal leaflet sometimes ternate in var. dissecta), ± firm but not succulent;

leaflets lance-ovate to triangular or suborbiculate, lobed or unlobed, margins entire or toothed.

Inflorescences

terminal, 1-flowered;

bracts absent.

Flowers

bell-shaped;

sepals distally strongly spreading to recurved, violet-blue, lanceolate, 2.5-5 cm, margins proximally thick and tomentose, distally broadly expanded, 2-6 mm wide, thin, crispate, less conspicuously tomentose than proximal portion, or glabrate, tips acuminate, abaxially glabrous.

sepals violet-blue, reddish violet, or white, lanceolate to ovate or elliptic-oblong.

Achenes

bodies appressed-puberulent;

beak 2-3.5 cm, appressed-puberulent.

2n

= 16.

Clematis crispa

Clematis occidentalis

Phenology Flowering spring–summer.
Habitat Low woods, bottomlands, swamps
Elevation 0-200 m (0-700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; IL; KY; LA; MO; MS; NC; OK; SC; TN; TX; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CO; CT; DE; IA; ID; IL; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OR; PA; RI; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; NB; ON; QC; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Clematis crispa is highly variable in leaflet width, and conspicuous variation may occur on a single plant (R.O. Erickson 1943); no discontinuity or geographic correlation exists that would permit the recognition of varieties. The dilated, petaloid sepal tips and thin, crispate, broadly expanded sepal margins are diagnostic for this species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Leaflets lobed or unlobed, margins entire or crenate-serrate (or terminal leaflet sometimes ternate); stems tufted or, if viny, up to 0.5(–1.5) m.
var. dissecta
1. Leaflets unlobed or some 1–3-lobed, margins entire or shallowly serrate; stems ± viny, climbing or trailing, 0.25–3.5 m.
→ 2
2. Sepals reddish violet, rounded-mucronate to nearly acuminate.
var. occidentalis
2. Sepals violet-blue to pale blue, rarely white, usually distinctly acuminate.
var. grosseserrata
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Clematis > subg. Viorna Ranunculaceae > Clematis > subg. Atragene
Sibling taxa
C. addisonii, C. albicoma, C. baldwinii, C. bigelovii, C. catesbyana, C. coactilis, C. columbiana, C. drummondii, C. fremontii, C. glaucophylla, C. hirsutissima, C. lasiantha, C. ligusticifolia, C. morefieldii, C. occidentalis, C. ochroleuca, C. orientalis, C. pauciflora, C. pitcheri, C. recta, C. reticulata, C. socialis, C. tangutica, C. terniflora, C. texensis, C. versicolor, C. viorna, C. virginiana, C. vitalba, C. viticaulis, C. viticella
C. addisonii, C. albicoma, C. baldwinii, C. bigelovii, C. catesbyana, C. coactilis, C. columbiana, C. crispa, C. drummondii, C. fremontii, C. glaucophylla, C. hirsutissima, C. lasiantha, C. ligusticifolia, C. morefieldii, C. ochroleuca, C. orientalis, C. pauciflora, C. pitcheri, C. recta, C. reticulata, C. socialis, C. tangutica, C. terniflora, C. texensis, C. versicolor, C. viorna, C. virginiana, C. vitalba, C. viticaulis, C. viticella
Subordinate taxa
C. occidentalis var. dissecta, C. occidentalis var. grosseserrata, C. occidentalis var. occidentalis
Synonyms Viorna crispa, Viorna obliqua Atragene occidentalis
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 543. (1753) (Hornemann) de Candolle: Prodr. 1: 10. (1824)
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